Chef Lesia
Adzhyka po-Ukrainsky (аджика, tomato-pepper relish)
The tomatoes go from garden-red to brick-red while the peppers slump and the garlic waits. By the end, the spoon leaves a path and the whole south fits in one jar.
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Khrin z Buryakom (хрін з буряком, beet-horseradish relish)
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The beet makes it glow like a church window, then the horseradish comes up through your nose and reminds everyone at the Easter table to sit straighter.
Sauces & Condiments
Ukrainian
Easter
Make Ahead
Celebration
25 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield2 medium jars, about 600 ml total
The color is almost too pretty for how rude it is. Beet turns the jar ruby, glossy, innocent-looking, and then fresh horseradish climbs straight through your nose like it has business upstairs. This is the Easter table's little thunderclap: a spoonful beside cold roast pork, kovbasa, eggs, paska, anything rich that needs waking up.
The whole dish depends on one thing: grate the horseradish fresh and cover it quickly. The sharpness is volatile, which is a polite kitchen word for "it will run away if you let it." Aunt Nadia wrote only, "close the jar before it bites you back," and for once she was giving an exact measurement. Mix it into the beet while it's still loud, then balance with vinegar, salt, and just enough sugar to round the edges without making it sweet.
Wear gloves if you like your hands unstained, open a window if you like your eyes, and make more than one jar. There is no tradition of a tiny Easter table.
Khrin z buryakom belongs especially to the Ukrainian Easter basket and Easter breakfast, where grated horseradish stands for bitterness and strength, while beet softens its fire with sweetness and color. Across regions the balance shifts: some households make it nose-clearing and dry, others looser and sweeter, but the pairing with cold meats, eggs, and paska is fixed enough that the table looks unfinished without it.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beets
Quantity
500g
scrubbed, tails left on
fresh horseradish root
Quantity
80g
peeled
apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
Quantity
3 tablespoons
cold water
Quantity
1 tablespoon, plus more if needed
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
sugar
Quantity
1 to 2 teaspoons
to taste
unrefined sunflower oil (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beetsscrubbed, tails left on | 500g |
| fresh horseradish rootpeeled | 80g |
| apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar | 3 tablespoons |
| cold water | 1 tablespoon, plus more if needed |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon |
| sugarto taste | 1 to 2 teaspoons |
| unrefined sunflower oil (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •A box grater or small food processor
- •A medium saucepan
- •Two clean 300 ml glass jars with lids
- •Kitchen gloves, if beet-stained hands bother you
Instructions
- 1
Cook the beets
Put the whole beets in a pan, cover with cold water, and simmer gently until a knife slides through without a fight. Keep the tails on so they don't bleed all their color into the water. Drain, cool until you can handle them, then slip the skins off with your fingers.
- 2
Grate the beet
Grate the beets on the fine or medium side of a box grater, depending how smooth you like the relish. Fine gives you a spoonable ruby paste; medium leaves little threads that catch against cold meat beautifully. Spoon the beet into a mixing bowl and admire the mess. This is why aprons exist.
- 3
Wake the horseradish
Grate the peeled horseradish finely, or pulse it in a small food processor with the vinegar and water. Keep your face back when you lift the lid. It should smell bright, sharp, almost mustardy, the kind of smell that clears the whole room.
The bite fades once horseradish is grated, so mix it quickly into the beet and get the jar covered. This is the one step that doesn't wait for you. - 4
Season and balance
Stir the horseradish into the grated beet with the salt and one teaspoon of sugar. Taste after a minute, once the vinegar has moved through the beet. It should be sweet at first, then sharp enough to make your eyes blink. Add the second teaspoon of sugar only if the beet tastes flat, and a splash more vinegar if the relish needs lifting.
- 5
Jar and rest
Pack the relish into clean jars, pressing it down so there are no dry pockets. Spoon a little sunflower oil over the top if you want a softer, rounder finish, then close the lids and chill. It is good straight away, but better after a night, when the beet and horseradish stop shouting over each other and start singing the same song.
Chef Tips
- •Fresh horseradish root matters. Jarred horseradish will work in an emergency, but it is already tamed, so use more of it and reduce the vinegar.
- •Roasting the beets instead of boiling makes the relish darker and sweeter. A bit more modern, very good, and useful if your beets are watery.
- •Grate horseradish near an open window or use a food processor. Your eyes may water. That means it is alive.
- •For a smoother Easter spread, blitz the finished relish briefly. For the table I like texture, those beet threads catching the light.
- •Keep it in the fridge and use a clean spoon every time. It will hold well for about two weeks, though Easter leftovers rarely last that long.
Advance Preparation
- •Cook the beets up to 3 days ahead and keep them chilled, unpeeled, until you are ready to grate.
- •Make the relish the day before Easter breakfast if you can. The flavor settles overnight and the color deepens.
- •The finished relish keeps refrigerated for about 2 weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 30g)
Calories
20 calories
Total Fat
1 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
150 mg
Total Carbohydrates
3 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
0 g
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